Boeing 737-9 Max must remain on the ground after the incident

After parts of a Boeing 737-9 Max were torn off, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered a temporary flight ban for more than 170 aircraft of the type. United Airlines expects 60 flights to be canceled.

The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is threatened with new trouble with the 737 Max 9 aircraft after an incident in which a cabin part broke out on an Alaska Airline aircraft. The US aviation authority FAA announced that certain aircraft of the type, which are operated by US airlines or on US area would have to be checked. This involves 171 aircraft.

Machines are allowed to start again after checking

According to the FAA, immediate inspections are necessary and take approximately four to eight hours per aircraft. Only then could the affected aircraft go back into operation.

The airline United Airlines announced that 45 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft would be temporarily taken out of service to carry out the inspection. 33 machines have already been inspected. The airline expects 60 canceled connections this Saturday.

Part of it came off at an altitude of 4,800 meters

The window incident occurred on Friday on a flight en route from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario Airport at an altitude of about 4,800 meters. According to media reports, shortly after takeoff, a part of the window suddenly came loose and flew away.

There was a big bang and then air rushed through the hole, passengers told The Oregonian newspaper. The seat directly next to the window was unoccupied, but a teenager in the middle seat suffered injuries from the sudden drop in pressure. There were therefore no reports of serious injuries.

In photos shared online by passengers, a large hole can be seen gaping in the side of the affected row of seats in the plane’s wall. A statement from Alaska Airlines said that shortly after takeoff, the plane returned to Portland airport with 171 passengers and six crew members on board and landed safely there.

Alaska Airlines inspects aircraft

Shortly after the incident, the airline announced that it would initially ground all of its Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft and subject the 65 aircraft to thorough maintenance and safety checks. Each aircraft will only be put back into operation after an inspection has been completed. The airline later announced that a quarter of the affected aircraft had already been checked without finding any abnormalities.

The incident is likely to alarm airlines and the manufacturer Boeing. The NTSB accident investigation agency is investigating the case. In contrast to the benign outcome on Friday, two emergencies in 2018 and 2019 ended catastrophically and led to the 737 Max series being grounded. There were a total of 346 deaths in the two crashes. The main cause is believed to be a faulty control program that caused the machines to crash to the ground.

Boeing then revised the type and gradually obtained re-certifications. However, the medium-haul jet continued to make headlines with production defects and put a strain on the manufacturer’s balance sheets.